


Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Sandwiches

by N_Pluto



Series: Worth Every Second [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, During Canon, Family Feels, Five and Vanya had a great relationship that deserved more screen time!, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 18:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17854841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/N_Pluto/pseuds/N_Pluto
Summary: You wanna know something stupid? I always used to leave the lights on for him. I was scared that he would come back, it would be late, and the house would be dark, and he wouldn't be able to find us, so he'd leave again. So, every night I'd make a little snack and make sure all the lights were on.Five times Vanya made a sandwich for Five, and one time he made a sandwich for her.





	Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Sandwiches

It’s been a week and Five still hasn’t come back. 

Vanya crept down the stairs, her steps light and silent. She couldn’t sleep. All she could think about was Five. Where was he? When would he come back? Would he come back? The questions raced through her mind. Though they remained unanswered, and would remain so for a long time. 

She missed him. He, unlike the others, actually talked to her. He listened to her. And now he was gone. She tried to tell him that time traveling was a bad idea; he didn’t listen to that. Now he was missing. 

The house was cold at night. And dark. Really dark, Vanya thought. 

‘What if Five came back and he couldn’t find us, and he left again?’ She turned on the lights, wincing at the sudden brightness. 

She began looking for some food. ‘When he comes back,’ she reasoned, ‘he’ll probably be hungry.’ His favorite was peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. She'll make him one of those. 

“Five,” she whispered, pleading, “please come back.” 

* * *

It’s been a month and Five still hasn’t come back. 

She hadn’t missed a night yet. She always made sure to keep lights on somewhere in the house at night and leave a sandwich out and ready for him.

Tonight she also left out some of Mom’s chocolate-chip cookies. She’d saved two for him, even if it meant less for her. If he came back and ate them that was. 

If he ever came back. It was long enough, why didn’t he just come home? 

She sat there for a while, waiting to see if, maybe, just maybe, tonight he’d come back home. Minutes turned to hours, and she nodded off, her head resting on the counter next to the late-night snacks she'd prepared. 

When she woke up, she didn’t know how she made it back to her room. For a brief moment, she allowed herself to hope that that meant Five was back. 

She raced down the stairs to where she had been the previous night. The lights were off and the food was gone. And Five was still gone too.

* * *

It’s been a year and Five still hasn’t come back.

Not special. Not special, not special, not special. She could hardly keep the tears back. Why couldn’t she have powers like the others? Why was she the ordinary one? Why did everyone else hate her so much?

She wished she could’ve left with Five. Wherever he was had to be better, she thought. Wherever he was, she would be happy, be special. 

She reached for her violin before she realized it was too late for her to practice without waking anybody.

She made her way to the kitchen instead. One way or another, she always found herself here at night. At first, making and leaving something out for Five had just been something for him. Now it was something for her too. Sometimes she’d lay the marshmallows in a pattern on the bread, maybe spell something out. It was a good distraction when she needed one.

Today she made two sandwiches. One for him, and one for her. Peanut butter and marshmallows weren't her favorite, but it was something. Something special.

* * *

It’s been three years and Five still hasn’t come back.

Ben was dead. Five was gone. And Vanya was drowning. 

She had been drowning since she was born, and, unlike Diego, she couldn't hold her breath forever. 

She practiced playing her violin until her fingers were blistered and cut. She threw herself into it with everything she had, because her music was all she had. 

Her late night adventures in sandwich making had become less and less frequent in the months since Ben died. Maybe it was because, with one of them actually dead, it meant that Five could die too, could be dead too.

They were out of marshmallows anyway. 

Somehow, she still ended up in the kitchen with a butter knife in her hand and bread laid out in front of her.

* * *

It’s been five years and Five still hasn’t come back.

She’d stopped leaving the lights on for him a year ago. He wasn’t coming back. It was stupid to think otherwise.

They were adults now. Everyone had already left or was getting ready to leave; Vanya figured she should as well. 

Five’s portrait hung on the wall; a constant reminder that he wasn’t there. A constant reminder of what they had lost. Under his gaze, Vanya felt like she was lost. Like she had been left behind, or, rather, like she had left something behind. 

She tried to remember the last conversation she had had with Five. He was complaining about how Dad wouldn’t let him work on his time jumps. She couldn’t remember his exact words or the sound of his voice, but she remembered his determination, his foolish, childish pride.

“Was it worth it?” The question hung in the air unanswered. Just like all her questions it seemed. 

She made her way to the kitchen, one last time, to make him a sandwich. Only this time, she left it next to Ben's statue. 

* * *

It’s been seventeen years and Five was finally home.

It was surreal, having him back after so long. Not to mention that he looked the same, even if he didn’t act or seem that way.

But, then again, some things never change.

It had been a while since Vanya found herself here in the middle of the night; it’s been even longer since Five was here with her.

“In your book, you said that you used to leave the lights on for me.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, I used to think if you came back you wouldn’t be able to find us if I didn’t.” She smiled sadly, thinking of those nights, those years where she would wait for him.

“Thank you.” After a moment of silence, Five stood up and walked over to the fridge.

He set himself to work on making two sandwiches: peanut butter and marshmallow. His favorite, and they'd become something of hers too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a kudo or comment! 
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at nevermore-plutonianshore!


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